Valve controlled bulk and dribble feed hopper



1954 H. v. KINDSETH 2,694,510

VALVE CONTROLLED BULK AND DRIBBLE FEED HOPPER Filed Sept. 4, 1951 2 Sheds-Sheet 1 5&

v I INVENTOR.

Nov. 16, 1954 I H. v. KINDSETH 2,694,510

VALVE CONTROLLED BULK AND DRIBBLE FEED HOPPER Filed Sept. 4, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 V JNVENTOR. wah 7 m BY I I f'A United States Patent VALVE (ZONTROLLED BULK AND DRIBBLE FEED HOPPER Harold V. Kindseth, Minneapolis, Minn., assignor to Bemis Bro. Bag 00., Minneapolis, Minn., a corporation of Missouri Application September4, 1951, Serial No. 245,033

3 Claims. (Cl. 222-485) My invention relates to packing machines and more specifically to devices for feeding granular or powdered bulk material to weighing scales for the purpose of dispensing predetermined amounts of said material.

An important object of my invention is the provision of a device for dispensing bulk material at a predetermined rate of flow and of novel means for adjusting said rate of flow to compensate for varying fluid characteristics of different materials.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a feeding device for granular or powdered material discharging said material in a relatively fast bulk feed stream and a relatively slow or dribble feed stream, and of novel means for regulating the speed of flow of both of said streams.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a feed hopper having a pair of discharge openings, a gate normally closing. one of said openings and movable to permit discharge of a bulk feed stream through said opening, a vibratory dribble feed mechanism associated with the other of said discharge openings, and novel valving mechanism for regulating the flow of material in said bulk feed stream and from said dribble feed mechanism.

Still another object of my invention is the provision of a single control element for simultaneously adjusting the feed streams as set forth.

A still further object of my invention, is the provision of a scale feeding device of the above type which is relatively simple and inexpensive to produce, which is easily regulated, and which is rugged in construction and durable in use.

Other highly important objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from the following detailed specification, appended claims, and attached. drawings.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate the invention, and in which like characters indicate like parts through the several views:

Fig. l is a fragmentary view in side elevation of a feeding device for bulk materials made in accordance with my invention, some parts being broken away and some parts shown. in section;

Fig. 2. is a view corresponding to a portion of Fig. 1, but showing a different position of some of the parts; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail partly in elevation and partl in section, taken substantially on the line 33 of Fig.

Referring with greater detail to the drawings, a generally rectangular frame structure is indicated in its entirety by the numeral 1 and is preferably made from structural angle iron or the like. The frame structure 1 supports a hopper 2 which is provided with a pair of spaced discharge passages or legs 3 and 4 which define discharge openings 5 and 6 respectively. Adjacent walls 7 and 8 of the legs 3 and 4 respectively converge at their upper ends to form a fulcrum 9 the purpose of which will hereinafter become apparent. The discharge opening 5 of the leg 3 is normally closed by a generally U-shaped gate 19 which is mounted for swinging movements about a horizontal axis on aligned trunnions or the like 11 extending laterally outwardly from opposite sides of the leg 3.

The discharge passage or leg 4 overlies a feeder trough 12 which extends transversely below the discharge opening 6 and which has an open end located closely adjacent the discharge end 5 of the leg 3. The feeder trough 12 is carried by an electromagnetic vibrator mechanism 13 which, when energized, causes the feeder trough 12 to 2,694,510 Patented Nov. 16, 1954 vibrate or oscillate very rapidly, thus moving material fed thereto through the discharge opening 6 outwardly of the open end of the trunnion 11. The vibrator mechanism 13 may be any one of several types commonly used for the purpose and, inasmuch as said vibrator mechanism does not, in itself, comprise the instant invention, further detailed disclosure thereof is thought unnecessary.

The discharge opening 5 of the leg 3 and the open discharge end of the feeder trough 12 overlie the open upper end of a scale mounted receptacle 14. The receptacle 14 is shown as being carried by one end portion of a scale beam 15 that is fulcrumed on suitable supporting means 16, as indicated at 17, see Fig. 1. The scale beam 15 and support therefor are shown more or less diagrammatically and are indicative of any suitable weighing mechanism which may be used for the purpose. The receptacle 14 is also conventional in nature and may be assumed to be capable of discharging the contents thereto into bags or the like not shown. Means for imparting relative movements to the gate 10 between its closed position of Fig. 1 and its open position of Fig. 2 comprises a piston-equipped fluid pressure cylinder 18, a piston plunger rod 19 and linkage connecting the outer end of the plunger rod 19 and the gate 10. Said linkage includes a shaft 29 journalled in suitable bearings 21 secured to the frame structure 1, a pair of crank-acting arms 22 and 23, and a rigid link 24. The arms 22 and 23 are each rigidly secured to the shaft 29 and project radially outwardly therefrom, the free end of the arm 22 being pivotally secured to the outer end of the plunger rod 19, as indicated at 25. The free end of the crank-acting arm 23 is pivotally secured to one end of the link 24, the other end of which is pivotally connected to a lug or car 26 extending laterally outwardly from the valve-acting gate 19. With reference to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the lower end of the cylinder is mounted to the frame structure 1, as indicated at 27. The connection 27 preferably provides an inlet to the cylinder 18 for fluid under pressure from a suitable source not shown. Introduction of fluid under pressure to the cylinder 18 causes extending movements to be imparted to the plunger rod 19 whereby to cause valve-opening movements of the gate 10. Release of fluid from the cylinder 18 will permit the plunger rod to retract and the gate 10 to close the discharge opening 5 under the action of gravity or other suitable means not shown. The operating. mechanism for the gate 10 and the vibrator mechanism of the feeder trough 12 are preferably controlled by suitable control mechanism associated with the scale beam 15 or like weighting mechanism. For the purpose of the present example, it may be assumed that such control mechanism is of the type disclosed in my co-pending application for United States Letters Patent, S. N. 231,717, filed June 15, 1951, and now Patent No. 2,661,876 and entitled Weighing Scale Feeder Mechanism.

In the dispensing of powdered or granular bulk material to the receptacle 14 in predetermined quantities by weight, the main bulk of material is fed to the receptacle 14 through the main discharge opening 5 of the hopper 2 after which the gate 10 is closed and the relatively small quantity necessary to achieve the required weight is fed to the receptacle by the dribble feed trough 12. It is well known to those skilled in the handling of powdered or granular materials that some such materials are more fluid than others. Hence, when dispensing more fluid granular or powdered material, it is often necessary to retard the flow of said materials to the receptacle 14 to insure accurate control of the quantity of material by the weighing mechanism. To this end, I provide valve elements movable into and out of the bulk and dribble feed streams. One of said valve elements comprises a plate-like member 28 having laterally outturned edge portions 29 and formed at its upper end to provide a downwardly opening hook portion 30. The plate 28 is contained within the discharge passage or leg 3 with the hook element 39 thereof engaging the fulcrum 9 formed by the upper end portions of the passage walls 7 and 8. The plate 23 is substantially the width of the interior of the leg 3, the side edge portions 29 thereof having slidmg engagement with the side walls of said passage 3. Engagement of the hook portion 30 with the fulcrum 9 permits swinging movements of the plate 28 between a valve open position in which the plate 28 rests against the passage wall 7, see Fig. 1, and a partially closed position wherein the lower end portion of the plate 28 is in close p roxinity to the opposite wall 7' of the passage 3, see

Means for moving the plate 28 between its extreme positions above described comprises a rock shaft 31 journalled in frame members 32, a crank-acting lever 33 rigidly secured to one end of the rock shaft 31 and extending radially therefrom, a pair of axially spaced radially pro: jecting crank arms 34 each rigidly secured at one end to the rock shaft 31 and a pair of rigid links 35 one each pivotally secured to the outer end of each of the crank arms 34 and at its other end to one of a pair of laterally projecting ears 36 welded or otherwise anchored to the lower end portion of the valve-acting plate 28. The links 35 extend through and work in slots 37, one of which is shown, in the wall 7 of the discharge passage or leg 3.

As shown, movement of the lever 33 toward the left with respect to Figs. 1 and 2 will impart valve-opening movement of the plate 28 toward the wall 7 of the leg 3, whereas movement of the lever 33 toward the right, with respect to Figs. 1 and 2, will impart valve-closing movements to the plate 28 in the direction of the wall 7. Thus, by merely setting the lever 33 in any desired position between the limits of its movement about the axis of the rock shaft 31, the effective discharge aperture in the passage 3 may be regulated to a relatively fine degree.

The valve means utilized to regulate the dribble feed stream is in the nature of a plate-like member 38 welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the central portion of a generally U-shaped bracket 39, the opposite ends of which are secured to a transverse shaft 40 which is journalled in bearing lugs or the like 41 on opposite sides of the frame structure 1. The mounting of the U-shaped bracket 39 disposes the plate-like member 38 in overlying relationship to the feeder trough 12 intermediate the ends thereof, and the journalling of the shaft 40 permits swinging movements of the plate 38 in directions toward and away from the bottom of the feeder trough 12. Means for imparting feed regulating movements to the plate 38 include the lever 33, the rock shaft 31, a relatively short crank arm 42, and a rigid link 43 pivotally anchored at its upper end to the radially outer end of the crank arm 42 and at its lower end to a lug 44 welded or otherwise secured to the intermediate portion of the U-shaped bracket 39. As clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, when the lever 33 is moved in a direction to swing the Valve-acting plate 28 toward the wall 7 of the leg 3, the valve-acting plate 38 will be simultaneously swung about the axis of the shaft 40 in a direction away from the bottom of the feeder trough 12, whereby to permit a maximum flow of material to the weighing receptacle 14. Obviously, when the lever 33 is swung in the opposite direction, the valveacting plates 28 and 38 will be moved in a direction to reduce said flow of material.

I have found that with the use of the mechanism above described, I have been able to control the flow of granular and powdered materials such as flour, sugar, granular feeds, and the like in a manner to provide a high degree of accuracy in weighing said materials together with a rapid dispensing thereof. While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my novel feeding device, it will be understood that the same is capable of modification and that modification may be made without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a device of the class described, a feed hopper having a pair of spaced discharge openings, a gate normally closing one of said openings and movable to permit discharge of a bulk feed stream through said opening, dribble feed mechanism positioned to receive material from the other of said discharge openings and operative to provide a dribble feed stream discharged therefrom independently of said bulk feed stream, a movable valve element in said one of the discharge openings for regulating the rate of How of the bulk feed stream when the gate is open, a second valve element, means mounting the second valve element for movements into and out of the path of the dribble feed stream to regulate the rate of flow thereof, and means including a lever for simultaneously moving said valve elements in directions to increase or decrease the flow of material in their respective feed streams.

2. In a device of the class described, a feed hopper having a pair of spaced discharge openings, a gate normally closing one of said openings and movable to permit discharge of a bulk feed stream through said opening, dribble feed mechanism positioned to receive material from the other of said discharge openings and operative to provide a dribble feed stream discharged therefrom independently of said bulk feed stream, a movable valve element in said one of the discharge openings for regulating the rate of flow of the bulk feed stream when the gate is open, a second valve element, means mounting he second valve element for movements into and out of the path of the dribble feed stream to regulate the rate of flow thereof, and means for simultaneously moving said valve elements in directions to increase or decrease the flow of material in their respective feed streams, said last-mentioned means comprising a lever and linkage connected therewith and with said valve elements.

3. In a device of the class described, a feed hopper having a discharge passage at its bottom portion terminating in a discharge opening, a gate normally closing said opening and movable to permit discharge of a bulk feed stream through said opening, said hopper having a second discharge opening spaced from the first said opening, dribble feed mechanism underlying said second discharge opening and operative to provide a dribble feed stream discharged therefrom independently of said bulk feed stream, a valve element in said passage for regulating the rate of flow of the bulk feed stream when the gate is open, said valve element comprising a plate-like member having its opposite side edge portions in sliding engagement with the side walls of said passage and hingedly mounted at its upper edge for swinging movements toward and away from another one of the walls of said passage, a second valve element, means mounting said second valve element for movements into and out of the path of the dribble feed stream, and mechanism for simultaneously moving said valve elements in directions to increase or decrease the flow of material in their respective feed streams.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 857,164 Edtbauer June 18, 1907 1,140,915 Redd May 25, 1915 1,577,636 Hayes Mar. 23, 1926 1,982,127 Venable Nov. 27, 1934 2,137,334 Dorrington' Nov. 22, 1938 2,352,114 Muskat June 20, 1944 

